Aaron Paul thanks his maker

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

The original plan for "Breaking Bad" was to have Aaron Paul's character, Jesse Pinkman, killed off early in the series. But he and star Bryan Cranston had great chemistry and the character survived. That would explain Paul's very sincere thanks from the stage to show creator Vince Gilligan, "Thank you so much for not killing me off!"

The original plan for "Breaking Bad" was to have Aaron Paul's character, Jesse Pinkman, killed off early in the series. But he and star Bryan Cranston had great chemistry and the character survived. That would explain Paul's very sincere thanks from the stage to show creator Vince Gilligan, "Thank you so much for not killing me off!" (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

The original plan for "Breaking Bad" was to have Aaron Paul's character, Jesse Pinkman, killed off early in the series. But he and star Bryan Cranston had great chemistry and the character survived. That would explain Paul's very sincere thanks from the stage to show creator Vince Gilligan, "Thank you so much for not killing me off!"